The Paper Kingdom

November 4, 2019
“Mama and Papa were night janitors,” writes Rhee (The Turtle Ship), who bases this story on her own experiences growing up. “When they got ready for work, Daniel got ready for sleep” across the cozy room from where his mother is cooking. But tonight, the person who usually watches Daniel can’t come, and Daniel’s parents have asked the upstairs neighbors for “too many favors.” The child must leave his bed and accompany them. The security guard looks the other way, and Daniel’s parents get to work cleaning a corporate office, telling their son it’s “The Paper Kingdom” ruled by two monarchs and inhabited by dragons. Dad makes jokes and Mama says of the dragons, “They don’t mean to be naughty,” while gentle digital images by Campion (Good Morning, City) depict a bright, fluorescent-lit space. But the kingdom is a mess: the board room is littered with papers, the kitchen is a “disaster,” and the work is obviously grueling. “It made Daniel feel hurt inside” to watch his parents labor in the middle of the night, and he rails about the unfairness of their having to clean up after others. Rhee ends on an upbeat note (maybe one day Daniel will be king, and “tell the dragons to be nice and neat”), and her story offers both a meaningful portrayal of one working-class experience and an image of a loving, hardworking family. Age 3–7. Author’s agent: Bill Contardi, Brandt & Hochman Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Justin Rucker, Shannon Assoc.

Starred review from December 1, 2019
Daniel accompanies his parents to their job late one night and discovers a magical kingdom. Daniel's parents are night janitors and get ready for work just as Daniel gets ready for bed. Usually Auntie Clara babysits him, but one night when she cannot, Daniel must go with his parents to their job. Though the story takes place in the middle of the night, full-page illustrations brimming with color and depth bring the story to life. Unsurprisingly, Daniel is sleepy and on the verge of tears, but he must stay awake as his parents mop floors, vacuum, dust shelves, and clean the bathrooms. Despite his tiredness, Daniel can't help but question why everything is a mess and why his parents must be the ones to clean up everything. It angers him to see his parents working so hard to clean up other people's messes, but his parents reassure him with stories of the Paper Kingdom and well-meaning dragons. Lushly respectful illustrations perfectly complement this simple yet heartwarming story that highlights the struggles of working-class parents and the sacrifices they make for their families. Daniel's parents sometimes appear multiple times on a spread, emphasizing their busyness. This diverse story features a family of color depicted with brown skin and black hair. A beautiful, must-read tribute to hardworking families and the magic they create. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)

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January 1, 2020

Gr 1-3-When his babysitter calls in sick, young Daniel is taken by his parents to their job cleaning an office after hours. The empty building initially scares and confuses Daniel. He doesn't understand why his mother and father have to clean it. They explain that the office is home to the Paper King and a bunch of dragons who leave trash everywhere. Although his parents insist that the dragons don't mean to be messy, Daniel is incensed by the injustice. But he is soothed when his parents tell him that one day, he can be king and tell the dragons to be less messy. Campion's illustrations are gentle and colorful. He conveys the family's economic status on the first page when we see Daniel sleeping in the same room as the stove and dining table. The perspective of some scenes is off; however, there are also subtle details like the characters' reflections in the shiny, freshly mopped floors. The text is mostly composed of Daniel's questions and his parents' explanatory dialogue, but it also alludes to how hard their work is. They sweat, sneeze, cough, and rub their necks as they clean the office board room. VERDICT Inspired by the author's own life, this is an uplifting story of a family working hard to make things better for the next generation.-Chance Lee Joyner, Wilton Public and Gregg Free Library, NH

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Starred review from December 1, 2019
Grades K-2 *Starred Review* Parents in picture books may be seen coming from or going to work, but they're rarely seen at work, especially with jobs that are backbreaking and poorly paid. This picture book, like Karen Hesse's Night Job (2018), shows parents on the night shift doing janitorial work. Here a family of three lives in an apartment so small that their little boy, Daniel, must sleep in a corner of the room. We see how fragile the social support is for them when the babysitter cancels, and the parents, who clean an office building at night, must take a very tired Daniel to work with them, driving their old, beat-up car. The illustrations, done by renowned French American artist Campion, are wonderful at showing both the reality of work (the parents sweat and sneeze and struggle) and a luminous imaginary world (the building they enter looks like a menacing robot's gigantic head), complete with traces of friendly dragons?a fiction that the parents create in order to help get their boy through the night. The ending delivers a socially conscious message, with the boy resolving to be nice to the dragons (aka workers) when he becomes the Paper King (boss) one day. Enchanting and powerful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)